‘Hearthstone’s Dungeon Run Mode Is Hard but Accessible

As part of the multitude of announcements at this weekend’s Blizzcon, the Hearthstone team unveiled its new Dungeon Run mode. It’s a singleplayer PvE mode in which you take on a string of eight bosses.

One could liken it to the Arena, except you have very little choice over what goes into your deck. You can pick a class, but your cards are chosen for you. After every win, you can choose three cards to add to your deck. These fall into various playstyle categories (like Shadow Priest) to make sure you can get some synergies going.

It’s an accessible way of doing things that’ll still appeal to veterans because the lack of control kind of makes it a puzzle.

After each win, you’ll also choose a treasure, and these have bonuses we haven’t seen before. If it weren’t for the ridiculously hard bosses you’ll see later on, these would be overpowered. After the first win I chose a ring that doubled the effectiveness of my hero power while halving its cost. That’s massive.

Here’s an example of what you’re presented with after a win:

Treasures are powerful but necessary in Dungeon Run

It follows a roguelike structure in that you get as far as you can within a play session, customise a little with random rewards along the way, and see how far you can get. The Blizzcon 2017 version of the mode only allowed us to get past the third encounter, so we’re unsure of what rewards await those who can defeat all eight bosses.

Die before you reach the end, and there are no second chances. The game has absolutely no problem with unceremoniously dumping you after you’ve invested over an hour.

Check the video for some footage of the game as we play through it. There were only the Mage, Warrior and Priest classes to choose from at Blizzcon 2017. I started off the with the Priest.

It’s a very cool addition to a game that’s also adding 135 cards to its standard multiplayer play. Hearthstone fans have a lot to be happy about right now.

Managing Editor at FANDOM. Decade-long games critic and esports aficionado. Started in competitive Counter-Strike, then moved into broadcast, online, print and interpretative pantomime. You merely adopted the lag. I was born in it.

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